Showing posts with label Tata Motors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tata Motors. Show all posts

Friday, January 25, 2013

Heavy weight champ

Telang’s background in operations and his experience with the successful Commercial Vehicles business will be an asset

As Jack Welch once said, “If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don’t have to manage them.” Ratan Tata has done exactly the same in Tata Motors, which is one of the key reasons why the company is the market leader in the Commercial Vehicles segment and more importantly, produces almost half of the Commercial Vehicles sold in the country. Well, P. M. Telang, Executive Director (Commercial Vehicles), Tata Motors would have a lot to do with that, for he is the man standing behind this success.

A Mechanical Engineer and an MBA from IIM-Ahemdabad, Telang has over three decades of experience in the automotive industry as he has been with Tata Motors since 1972. In his previous role as President (Light & Small Commercial Vehicles), Telang played a major role in ensuring a turnaround in the company through cost cutting and e-procurement. He is also serving as Senior VP (Operations), Pune currently. Overshadowing the success that the company achieved under Ravi Kant’s leadership will certainly not be a cake walk for anyone succeeding him. However, if we talk about the Commercial Vehicle segment of Tata Motors, Telang has been able to take its growth story forward very efficiently. And industry insiders believe that if Telang takes charge; it will surely set the stage for the next phase of growth for Tata Motors. And as auto expert Murad Ali Baig asserts, “The person taking charge of Tata Motors after Ravi Kant leaves should have an in-depth knowledge of the automotive industry apart from the basics of management and finance.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Thursday, October 11, 2012

CEOS (FROM L TO R) : B. MUTHURAMAN, TATA STEEL; RAVI KANT, TATA MOTORS; AND S. RAMODARAI, TCS

2009 will see Tata Steel, TCS and Tata Motors lose their top men to retirement. Is the Tata Group prepared for this, or even the larger leadership crisis?

Russi Mody was well past 70 and was unceremoniously ousted. Darbari Seth fought a subterranean battle that he lost when he turned 70. Even his son had to quit as MD, Tata Chemicals. And Ajit Kerkar could not even enjoy the fruits of being non-executive Chairman as he was turfed out of the Taj group when he turned 65. The exit of regional chieftains enabled Ratan Tata to transform the group from a loosely held federation to a tightly controlled corporate house where he and his trusted, hand-picked team held all the aces. In fact, Tata leveraged his unchallenged supremacy to ensure that the holding company Tata Sons substantially increased its stake in all group companies. This has been one of the key reasons for group companies like Tata Tea, TCS, Tata Steel & Tata Motors to execute expensive global acquisitions.

In 2002, when he turned 65, Ratan Tata stuck to the ‘group’ policy and retired as executive Chairman of the group. But then, no one in the group or anywhere else had any doubt whatsoever as to who called the shots in the group, no matter who the ‘executive head’. If you think Ratan Tata has actually relinquished control after 2002 when he retired as executive chairman, you will believe that it is Manmohan Singh, and not Sonia Gandhi who calls the shots in UPA. This arrangement worked well for while and then the clock started ticking again. It was Ratan Tata who had introduced a policy that defined 70 years as the final cut off age even for ‘non-executive’ positions; the same policy that was invoked to oust big wigs like Russi Mody and Darbari Seth. Most leaders tend to think that they are indispensable and Ratan Tata is no different. The dilemma was how to transform his ‘indispensability’ into official group policy. Out went the Sonia model and in came the Zia ul Haq cum Mussharraff model of governance. They changed the constitution to extend their rule and Ratan Tata changed the official group policy to extend his tenure. Back in 2005, Tata Sons announced that non-executive chairmen can now function up to age 75. Ratan Tata was 68 then and earned a fresh mandate to lead the group till 2012 at least.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Thursday, August 30, 2012

MARUTI SUZUKI LTD.: CHALLENGES

Maruti has been at the top of the list in the Indian automobile market since the 1980s, but with competition increasing in the small car segment, there are storm clouds on the horizon that the company can’t afford to ignore. What should the Indo-Japanese giant do next? by Pawan Chabra

In the month of July 2010, the company sold 100,857 units (domestic and exports), marking a y-o-y growth of 29% – a historic news for Maruti, as this was the second-highest monthly volume ever sold by the company. But this relief was not big enough to scare away its competitors. Maruti will still find it hard to continue living with its 50%-plus market share psychology. With Tata Nano gaining volumes month after month, analysts are of the view that Tata Motors will prove to be a bigger threat for Maruti than for Hyundai. Tata is all set to grab the second spot by displacing Hyundai as the second largest passenger car maker soon. In fact, the company has already done that in the month of June 2010 (though Hyundai reclaimed its second spot in July 2010). However, one needs to remember that Nano is making bigger waves by the passing day. Adds Srivastava, “A lot will depend on the strategy of the Tatas. Out of the total produced units of Nano, how many units will be retailed in India will determine its market share vis-a-vis its competitors in India.” And there are many more Goliaths in the making. Products like Toyota’s Etios, Honda’s proposed small car, Bajaj’s small car, Hyundai 800cc product, Volkswagen model below the Polo et al, are expected to hit the Indian market soon.

Maruti is currently at it to save its ‘numerical’ dream. The company has launched the new Alto with a K-Series engine and soon plans to launch CNG variants of its Eeco, Estilo, WagonR and SX4 models. But if truth be told, it has to focus more on absolute volumes than relative shares. Many-a-time, 10% proves bigger than 50%. Maruti has to work on the denominator and increase capacity soon. Additionally, identifying newer markets and product offerings that consumers desire is what will determine the numbers for the joint-venture. Rest is all well with Maruti.
 


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